10. Rush

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzNbGH1oZJc&w=584&h=390]

Rush was one of the biggest surprises of the year, a genuinely great sports movie from a director I didn’t think had it in him. Ron Howard’s formula-one racing movie is close to perfect, a stylish thrill-ride anchored by two towering lead performances in Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, bitter rivals who need each other to survive. Bruhl, in particular, is superb as the monomaniacal German race Niki Lauda, and if the Oscars are paying attention, he deserves to be nominated for his spellbinding work here.